In the 1981 season, the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit hosted the Bengals' first trip to the Super Bowl on Jan. 24, 1982.
In the first northern Super Bowl, Ken Anderson scrambled for a score and took to the air to become the game's first 300-yard passer with 300 even.
Cris Collinsworth and Dan Ross each had over 100 receiving yards. Ross hauled in two touchdowns and set a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions.
But it wasn't enough as the best Bengals team of all-time, No. 2 in offense, No. 12 in defense and off two destructions of the talented Chargers in a span of 64 days, falls to an unheralded 49ers team coached by former Paul Brown assistant Bill Walsh, 26-21.